In this week’s episode, we interview two shrews! A few moons ago, two self-named shrews consulted the googles to see if others like them existed, and lo and behold, they came upon our podcast. The shrews are Elizabeth Paulson and Stephanie Higgs of Two Shrews Press. They’re two women who left the world of corporate publishing to start their own company, and they even have a book out right now, The First Winter. 

Luckily for us, these two shrews reached out and made our acquaintance. We were instantly smitten by their mission and knew they had to be on the podcast! They sent us a copy of The First Winter to read, and we interviewed them from their respective homes in Green Bay and New York. We talk about how they became shrews, why they started their own company and how their friendship is just like ours.

On their site is the quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.”

And with The First Winter, they take that idea a step further by putting girls IN a book. The First Winter collects the thoughts of Somali teenage girls living in the United States as refugees. The girls write about their faith, being teenagers, learning to live in a new country, hot Cheetos, and missing home. Their stories are real and painful and charming and remind us of the awkwardness and grace of being a teenage girl.

We’re so excited to share this episode with you!